All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

i've seen the squirt around but have heard varying experiences about them. Maybe i'll look at them again.

LOL. e-bike...saddles?! what next? e-bike handlebar grips?

 

Huh. Moto chain lube is not actually a bad idea. probably a tiny bit cheaper as well. I'll have to get a bottle of scc and try it out.

 

Cycle gear in Draper has a few options. And it's next to the new Trader Joe's so you can get your snack on!

Figures I move away right as it finally opens to the public.

 

Boy howdy, are you behind the times

 

No, but @guitarjamman pretty much hit the nail on the head. I'd recommend Kingdom Campground and can confirm you can bike from that campground to Darling Hill with a little effort. Then just use the Tiki Bar as a hub location.

I use Pedro's wet lube. I like it, seems to hold up well to wet conditions.

Be careful with moto lube. Moto chains are much more significant, larger tolerances. They work, but they're thhhhiiiiicccckkkk.

 

:tableflip:

 

I've been using SCC Tech for a while now after @Gunshot-6A recommended it a while back. I'm a big fan. It runs quiet for a while between applications and minimal gunk. I ran the regular mucoff before and felt like it needed to be applied every ride and would end up super dirty really quick.

This summer has been super dusty but I still have a decent amount of creek crossings where I usually ride so I stick to regular lube but with minimal creek crossings I'd consider swapping between 2 waxed chains like I do on my gravel bike.

 

While we are on the topic of controversial topics, I have a not necessarily controversial topic, for those that have ridden dirt and asphalt pump tracks, what are your thoughts for/against either?

The use case is a town park with heavy child use anywhere from balance bikes up to teenagers and adults just trying to have fun. If it's asphalt it would probably be built by velosolutions, dirt would be built by a local trail building company.

There are currently some skinnies, small berms, teeter totter, and some smallish table tops all made out of wood in the park.

Personally I lean towards dirt but thinking asphalt might be the better choice since its in town and would basically be usable year round. the lot is exposed to sun so we are worried it would get hit by freeze/thaw really bad if it was dirt.

Any thoughts?

 

We have a bunch of pump tracks in the SLC area, as well as my new PNW area. The ones in the more common use parts of town seem to get ground into oblivion, so I'd say for the general public, asphalt might be the better solution. If it was at the entrance of a MTB trail network, etc then perhaps dirt would be better since it's less places for trail crews to have to travel to, and would have less traffic wearing down/rutting out the track.

 

I don't have extensive experience with pump tracks, only been on them a handful of times, but I do know dirt and asphalt. If it's light use, but you want a nice, smooth surface, you can mess with the asphalt mix, raise the liquid asphalt content and end up with a really, really smooth, and almost sort of soft feeling asphalt surface. If the area needs to be low maintenance, asphalt might be easier but it will eventually crack and you end up with tar snakes and patches that may never get repaired. Asphalt should also be sealed every so often as well so there's an expense / maintenance item there that should be considered.
Conversely, if you use good dirt/stone, compact it well, it should hold up well. It'd be cheaper to build initially, but also cheaper to maintain as long as it gets periodic maintenance / touch ups. Freeze thaw shouldn't really devastate a dirt track if it's properly drained and your touch ups can be a guy with a rake rather than an asphalt patching crew.

 

I'm thinking that's the best move. My only concern would be with kids falling on asphalt but with Virginia clay packing down in the summer it probably won't be much different dirt to asphalt.

I'm hoping we can get a small skills park and mini trail system built up somewhere else nearby, that will probably end up being dirt and wood depending on what the land looks like.

That is a good point about patching the asphalt...I'm not sure that we could do that from volunteer point of view haha

It's a tough choice because my personal preference would be dirt but It's hard for me to say what would be best for kids

 

Hadn't thought about asphalt patching, thats def above my paygrade, but if city maintained could be viable (how do your roads look?).

Asphalt would also attract the increasingly ubiquitous scooter-bros (take that however you will)

 

the scooter bros are already everywhere haha. I've seen guys on the side of the trail huffin down a cig right after they passed by on the trail haha. Then I saw guys on those single wheel segway things (not the one wheel) hitting the jumps.

The roads are fine but I'm not sure if the town or county maintains them. the property the pumptrack is going on is maintained by the town but the features are paid for via fundraising with some town money. I'm in loudoun county now since you might have some reference on that haha.

 

PSA: Yeti has some bikes on sale now

https://yeticycles.com/electric-summer-sale

 

And Ibis has 25% off a bunch of Ripmo builds

 

For the probably the past 20 years, I've used Maxima Chain Wax. Yes, it was originally moto-specific but it sets up dry so it doesn't attract dirt and I only have to apply it maybe once every 3 months whether I'm in the East Coast, Rockies or California (moon dust or mud, it doesn't matter). You do have to make sure you have a super clean chain for initial application though. I figured if it can handle moto, then a bike is nothing. I still have to find a better chain lube. I've even tried Maxima's bike specific lubes but went back to the original Chain Wax.

$21 Maxima 74920 Chain Wax - 13.5 oz. Aerosol

https://www.amazon.com/Maxima-74920-Chain-Wax-Aerosol/dp/B0012TZ1RU

 

I am heading out to Las Vegas this weekend and they will have a record breaking heatwave.
Son and I are planning on taking out MTBs but wifey and now other non-bikers are ill advising me not to. I was thinking of early morning rides but now ….. they got me thinking if maybe I am just hard headed and being stubborn and not thinking properly ????
Maybe I landed on my head to hard LOL

Where are my fellow desert wise MTBers at to set me straight!!!??

 

that's just regular life in the desert. bring lights, go in the morning right before the sun comes out, be done before 8am and you should be good to go.

 

Haha said the same thing at similar time!!

 

haha... yeah bro! that's actually my favorite time of day to ride when it's hot. Plus, you can't beat the sun as the ultimate backup light.